Yesterday, we put out a report on the most important issues to voters. We know that immigration now tops the traditional most important issues question (see below from @yougov.co.uk). But that doesn't tell the full story. Here is a rundown of the experiments we did to test this out (A THREAD):

I found this so interesting. We talk about polling results endlessly but rarely discuss how we ask the questions. This salience vs importance question is fascinating.

As immigration dominates the brief this morning, here’s my two cents on the salience vs. the importance of the issue: labourlist.org/2025/11/immi... (Full report linked below - Many thanks to @emmaburnell.bsky.social!!)

The map below shows how far behind France and Germany we are in mass transit. In France, every place with over 150,000 people has some form of tram or metro. But if mayoral areas can 'become builders' as @tracybrabinmayorwy.bsky.social puts it in the foreword, we can turn this around. 🧵 1/9

Great lineup for the final day of Labour party conference! Featuring Chris Ward, Peter Kyle, Darren Jones in convo with Beth Rigby, Liz Kendall, Sarah Edwards, Jonathan Reynolds, and Rachel Reeves. 📍All events will take place in Arena Room Aire (*except as noted).

At ‘How Broken is the Social Contract – and How Do We Fix It?’ fringe from @togethercoalition.bsky.social @labourtogether.bsky.social Brendan Cox opens, describing firm foundations of tolerance and trust in uk society; alongside worrying trends of rising dissatisfaction, prejudice & division.

Three statements of local ambition stand in Halifax, West Yorkshire: the Town Hall, the Borough Market and the Piece Hall. Such monuments of civic pride still bear the names of farsighted local leaders from past generations. 🧵 1/13

The worst possible message emerging in British politics is "We'll tolerate jobless serial criminals if, and only if, they are being racist".

There are clear inequalities in life expectancy and child poverty across the country, particularly affecting the North. See the data below from @healthfoundation.bsky.social showing premature mortality by local authority area and region. 1/3

Parks and playgrounds are integral to places, allowing people to relax, children to play and more. Hard to imagine NYC without Central Park, or Ilkley without its moor! This builds on a historic legacy of Victorian era council developing them for the good of their communities. Short 🧵 1/3

What has London’s Bakerloo line got to do with the government’s ability to invest in the North? Put simply, if we let London raise more money from high land values to pay for its infrastructure, this frees up more government spending for the rest of the country. Read below to see detail 👇

This is how we pay for the Bakerloo Line extension FREE TO READ!) takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/bakerloo-e...

The 1985 Transport Act was one of the biggest policy failures of recent decades. Nothing better describes this than the chart below by @jburnmurdoch.ft.com. A combination of new powers and funding through 'bus franchising' is looking to reverse this.

What does the collapse of Wylfa in Anglesey tell us about Britain? Too much power and wealth in Whitehall & the southeast. Short-term fiscal choices. A state that can’t deliver. Anglesey’s story is Britain’s. Read our new report, Britain’s Bottlenecks 👉 www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...

Agree. One thing that I really liked about @jpspencer.bsky.social’s Labour Together report is it included culture in “growth spending”. So much policy about regional development in the UK basically regards culture, tourism, etc. as distractions from the real work of building trains to nowhere.

My friends at @labourtogether.bsky.social very kindly shared this fascinating polling with me…

Thank you to everyone who has shared or read Future North in its first week! This week I have started with two pictures. But can you guess what they are and why they are important? Short thread. 1/5

🚀 Introducing Future North - a Substack exploring the people, projects and ideas shaping the future of the North of England. First post below - please subscribe to get new posts directly to your inbox! futurenorth.substack.com/p/why-future...

The new Devolution Bill entrenches the mayoral model, extends its powers to new areas and creates a framework for the transfer of more powers - including a new right to request and a parliamentary lock on the removal of powers. New article by me in the MJ: www.themj.co.uk/genuine-mile...

We can build more and faster writes @dantomlinson.bsky.social, Labour MP and Keir Starmer's growth mission champion

✈️ Britain’s talked about a third runway at Heathrow for two decades. Our new report with @BritishProgress shows how a flight could take off before 2029 - if Parliament chooses to speed up the process through a Public Bill.

Catch our director of tech policy @kmeinnes.bsky.social on The Abundance Agenda, talking all things 'BritCard'

The "BritCard" digital ID proposal is a good idea (FREE TO READ!) takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/britcard

In ‘Nation Rebalanced’, I called for the government to boost growth and tackle our significant regional inequalities. Today’s announcements put much of this into practice. 🥳

Today @labourtogether.bsky.social called for a Digital ID for all UK citizens and residents. There are many good reasons for this - convenience, efficiency of public services, avoiding another Windrush scandal, but also the impact on perceptions of migration. www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...

Over recent years we have spent 20% more per person on growing the economy in the South East versus the rest of England. These suggested reforms would finally start to rebalance the country.

🎙️Catch our Director of Devolution Policy @jpspencer.bsky.social on the Abundance Agenda podcast talking through our latest report, Nation Rebalanced: www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...

Great article by @tracybrabinmayorwy.bsky.social for @labourlist.bsky.social drawing on @labourtogether.bsky.social research. Looks at how mayors and the government can work together to correct our regional imbalances, creating a society that works for every place. labourlist.org/2025/04/west...

ICYMI - we published a new report on rebalancing the country endorsed by @chriscurtis94.bsky.social of the Labour Growth Group and @jowhitemp.bsky.social of the Red Wall Group. Below are my 5️⃣ favourite charts from the report. 🧵

Great evening in the Terrace Pavillion for the Labour Together and Portland Parliamentary staffers reception, recognising the hard work of Labour staffers. Rousing speeches from @jonashworth.bsky.social, Claire Reynolds, Steve Morris, @chriscurtis94.bsky.social, and @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social

@labourtogether.bsky.social have just published our recent poll of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. A write up can be found here: inews.co.uk/news/politic... Data tables, here: static1.squarespace.com/static/64f70...

Full report available here with much more detail on the analysis and recommendations. Delighted that the foreword was jointly written by @chriscurtis94.bsky.social and @jowhitemp.bsky.social www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/... @labourtogether.bsky.social

We can kid ourselves that this economic divergence is complicated and difficult to sort out. Or we can look at the evidence on how much slower and unreliable travel is in places like Leeds and do something about it. For more on this see @jpspencer.bsky.social @labourtogether.bsky.social new report.

🔉 Today we published our latest report - Nation Rebalanced - by Labour Together's Director of Devolution Policy @jpspencer.bsky.social Nation Rebalanced sets out a bold vision for rebalancing the UK economy and creating prosperity in every part of the country. www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...

📣 New report 📣 In a volatile world, we need an economy that is firing on all cylinders - but regional imbalances are driving overheating and stagnation in different places. www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...

New research by Labour Together reveals the nature of inequalities in public investment. What we call 'growth spending' is 41 per cent lower in the East Midlands per capita than it is in London. Here's a regional breakdown:

In May, we’ll complete the map of mayors in Yorkshire when Hull and East Yorkshire go to the polls. This will mean more decisions being taken over areas like transport and housing by mayors who know their areas. Great news for growth and for Yorkshire. www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/opinion...

🚨We're hiring! Come and join our brilliant Westminster team: 🧑‍💻Head of Operations/Deputy Chief of Staff, 45-60k 📊Research & Analytics Manager, 40-50k www.labourtogether.uk/jobs

🚨 OUT NOW 🚨 Is the UK finally ready for ID cards? 🆔 MP @jakerichardsmp.bsky.social, Labour Together's Kirsty Innes, & campaigners @rebeccajvincent.bsky.social & James Baker join @alaintolhurst.bsky.social to discuss why ID cards might be back on the political agenda 🎧 Listen here: pod.fo/e/2acb88

🚨OUT TODAY: A new Labour Together report, authored by Jonathan McClory, Partner at Sanctuary Cousnel, urges the UK government to adopt a fresh soft power strategy to strengthen Britain’s global influence amid ongoing geopolitical and economic insecurity. www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...

Interesting piece. But, I think the Chancellor’s approach is actually quite simple? Recent reforms and the Mais lecture suggest the aim is to address five big underlying issues in the UK economy (with some policy examples)? 1) Stability - new fiscal rules, Industrial Strategy [1/2]

Have written for @politicshome.bsky.social on how HM Treasury makes its biggest decisions, how this has changed in recent years and how this looks to be changing for the future.

What is the 'fiscal triangle'? @labourtogether.bsky.social's former Treasury adviser @jpspencer.bsky.social explains the key formula behind HMT decision-making 'start by picturing a big oval-shaped wooden table...'

🪨 In a new report, Labour Together Policy Fellow Felix Cazalet makes eight recommendations for how the Labour government should approach the new critical minerals strategy, due in Spring 2025. www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...

Ooh they read my @labourtogether.bsky.social paper. Good stuff.

Shocking that less than 20% of the “Levelling Up Fund” actually got spent. The new government’s intention to end the wasteful use of short term competitive funding will be better for taxpayers and local communities.

A new paper from @labourtogether.bsky.social supports calls for a National Immigration Plan, outlining their proposal for it include a range of targets based on govt's aims and policies for different visa and immigration routes with parliamentary oversight www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...

According to new Freedom of Information Requests I’ve shared with the Guardian, only 24 per cent of the combined £10.6 billion from the Levelling Up Fund, Shared Prosperity Fund and Towns Fund was spent under the Conservatives: www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

📍 People living in areas with greater devolution are more confident in their mayors and the model of devolution as a whole, according to new research

New @labourtogether.bsky.social paper argues that govt should have a migration plan, including long-term targets for different flows of inward migration. @financialtimes.com report here: www.ft.com/content/0411...